Golf returns to TV with a different look

Live PGA golf returns to television on Sunday, and it might not look entirely familiar except for the players.

No caddies.

The only rake on the golf course will be carried by a PGA Tour rules official.

If the flagstick is removed from the cup, it will be handled by another rules official.

And the four players - Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff - will be carrying their own bags in the charity Skins game at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.

This was important to McIlroy, who didn't like the alternative of millionaires zipping around in their own carts.

"I was a bit against that because I think if this is going to be the first time showcasing golf, trying to get out of this COVID-19 era, I think it's a good way to show you can socially distance by carrying your own bag and getting a bit of exercise," McIlroy said this week on the McKellar Journal podcast.

"Instead of sitting in a cart, jumping on and off, it's a good image for the game seeing four tour pros out there carrying bags."

Of course, this will require some adjustments.

McIlroy played Seminole before it closed last week for the summer, and he carried his own bag. It was heavier than it needed to be.

"I probably had 18 clubs, two dozen balls, a sweater in there," he said.

"The weather looks good on Sunday. I'll take out the umbrella and take as many balls as I need."